Masters, born in Ukraine with significant birth defects believed to be linked to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, has added another remarkable achievement to her career. The 35-year-old athlete, who was born with missing thumbs and weight-bearing bones in her legs, claimed the gold medal in the H4-5 time trial. 

Masters completed the race with a time of 23:45.20, finishing over six seconds ahead of Dutch cyclist Chantal Haenen. This victory marks her seventh Paralympic gold and underscores her exceptional career across multiple sports. Since her Paralympic debut in 2012, Masters has amassed a total of 18 medals, including wins in rowing and cross-country skiing.

Reflecting on her journey, Masters shared her thoughts on how sports have shaped her life. “It was a journey for me to love and accept myself and see my body as powerful and strong,” she explained. Her story is one of perseverance and self-empowerment, showing how sports can help individuals embrace their abilities and overcome personal challenges.

On the other side of the spectrum, Storey continued to build on her storied Paralympic career with another gold medal. At 46 years old, Storey competed in her ninth Paralympics and secured her 18th gold medal by winning the C5 time trial. She completed the course in 20:22.15, surpassing French competitor Heidi Gaugain by more than four seconds. 

This victory extends Storey’s record as the most successful British Paralympian, now ahead of swimmer Mike Kenny’s previous record of 16 gold medals. Overall, Storey has accumulated 29 Paralympic medals in total, with 13 of those being gold in cycling and the remaining five from swimming.

Despite her triumph, Storey voiced her dissatisfaction with the event's organisation. She criticised the 14.1-kilometre course, which she argued was the shortest Paralympic time trial she had ever competed in. "It's a short race. This is the shortest Paralympic time trial we have ever had, and I think it's a real shame because we don't get to showcase Para-sport in the way we want to," Storey said.

"You'll have to ask organisers. There's plenty of time in the day for us to do two laps like the men. Having fought so hard for parity in women's cycling, to not have it is a real disappointment. I've had to put that aside and focus on what I could control, because I couldn't control the race distance. But I hope they never do this to the women again, because it has been appalling.”

"It's a hilly 10km. I do lots of those at home so I have plenty of practice. But in championships you expect a race of minimum 22km, that's what we've done in all the other Paralympic Games. Look back to that incredible course in Beijing, Brands Hatch with all the fans, Rio was flat but longer, Tokyo we had the motor circuit... three laps, it was a real challenge. This has been the most disappointing in that sense, given what came before it," Storey concluded.